Hotel demand through the roof in Melbourne as ’24 Australian Open heats up

Hoteliers in Melbourne are licking their lips as tennis fans from around the world descend on Australia’s (apparent) sporting capital for the 2024 Australian Open.

A number of hotels across the Victorian capital have been fully booked for the entirety of the two-week competition which began on Sunday.

Dougal Hollis, the GM of Accommodation Australia (Victoria) believes the 9,000 new hotel rooms built in the city since 2020 make up a 25 per cent increase in stock and the immense booking numbers highlight the attraction of the event.

Sean Hunt, the area VP of Marriott International’s Australian, New Zealand and Pacific regions told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that the group’s 11 Melbourne hotels are on track to beat last year’s occupancy figures of 80 per cent.

Marriott’s $ 800-a-night Ritz-Carlton is fully booked out and Hunt expects overall revenue to be up 25 per cent compared to the same two-week period during last year’s tournament.

Australian Open (2016). iStock – ymgerman  

“Demand in Melbourne is off the scale right now,” GM, Hotel Windsor, David Perry, told the AFR.

Hotel Windsor, located in the heart of the city’s CBD said the historic property is either totally booked out or hitting 95 per cent occupancy rates for the entirety of the competition and went on to described the tournament director, Craig Tiley, as a ‘national tourism treasure’.

Latest News

  • Cruise

P&O rescues Rotary volunteers after collapse of Air Vanuatu

P&O Cruises Australia has answered a plea for help from a group of young Australian Rotary volunteers, stranded in Vanuatu following the collapse of Air Vanuatu. The students, many of them teenagers from Albury, NSW, were volunteering for a youth project run by the Hive Rotary Club Australia when the airline abruptly cancelled all flights, […]

  • Destinations

Intrepid continues expansions with launch of first DMC in Jordan

Intrepid has increased its presence in the Middle East with the opening of its first destination management company in Jordan. Based in Amman, the local team will operate Intrepid’s range of nine experiential small group tours in Jordan from this summer, with a view to expanding the range for 2025 and beyond. Zina Bencheikh, managing […]

  • Appointments

Minor hotels appoints Puneet Dhawan to key Asia role

Global hotel owner and operator Minor Hotels has appointed Puneet Dhawan as head of Asia as the group plots its growth in Asia and India. From July, Dhawan will be responsible for the performance of all Minor Hotels properties in Asia, working in close collaboration with the Minor Hotels senior leadership team and will report […]

  • Appointments

Abercrombie & Kent and Crystal appoint Evon Ler to director of sales, Asia

Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group have announced that Evon Ler will join them in the new role of director of sales, Asia. She will work closely with Tony Archbold (VP, Sales, APAC, Crystal) and Susan Haberle (VP, Sales & Partnerships, APAC, A&K) with trade support across the region. Ler comes to the A&K family with more […]